The self-perceptions and attributions of attention deficit hyperactivity disordered and nonreferred boys

Compared the self perceptions and attributions of attention deficit hyperactivity disordered (ADHD) and control boys. The ADHD boys viewed themselves as no worse than control boys on self-perceived competence and global selfworth, especially when internalizing symptomatology was taken into account statistically through covariance analyses. In terms of attributions, the ADHD boys were more likely to take responsibility for social successes and less likely to take responsibility for social failures than the control boys. Although the ADHD boys scored significantly higher on the Children's Depression Inventory, this difference was no longer significant when items dealing with behavior, school, and social problems were excluded. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding how the attributions and selfperceptions of ADHD boys may mediate their performance in challenging academic and social situations.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 1992 Annual Meeting of the Society for Research in Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, Sarasota, Florida. The first author was supported in part by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health (MH47390 and MH48157) and the Clinical Research Center (MH30915). The second author was supported in part by grants from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (AA06267), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA05605), and the National Institute of Mental Health (MH48157). The fourth author was supported by a grant from the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Kentucky.     

Changes in alertness and processing capacity in a serial learning task

Second-to-second changes in processing capacity were examined using a concurrent task paradigm involving serial learning and simple reaction time (RT) in two experiments. Experiment 1 demonstrated the feasibility of combining probe RT with a slow-paced serial learning task including perceptually isolated items. Experiment 2 employed the same concurrent tasks to compare cardiac interbeat interval (IBI, the reciprocal of heart rate) with probe RT. Second-to-second changes during item processing were found consistently for both measures. However, these changes appeared to be more related to observing and response requirements than to the specific cognitive processes required by the tasks. Correctly anticipated items were associated with (l)RT changes, suggesting heightened allocation of capacity, and (2)a cardiac IBI response of episodic cardiac deceleration imposed upon the task-induced cardiac speeding. The probe RT and cardiac IBI measures showed reasonable convergence in assessing the allocation of processing capacity. The concept of the accessibility of allocated capacity was introduced in considering instances of the divergence of probe RT and cardiac IBI.     

What communication skills do employers want? silicon valley recruiters respond

The purpose of this study was to analyze the satisfaction levels of Silicon Valley employers with the communication skills of newly hired college graduates. Employers reported that oral and written communication skills needed improvement in several areas, including the use of vocabulary and self‐expression. College graduates' skills are not always adequate to perform the tasks required on the job. Employers said students needed stronger writing skills; more training on professional uses of e‐mail; and additional education regarding self‐expression, impression management, and avoidance of slang.     

A Critical Review of Self-perceptions and the Positive Illusory Bias in Children with ADHD

Despite significant functional problems in multiple domains, children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) unexpectedly provide extremely positive reports of their own competence in comparison to other criteria reflecting actual competence. This counterintuitive phenomenon is known as the positive illusory bias (PIB). This article provides a comprehensive and critical review of the literature examining the self-perceptions of children with ADHD and the PIB. Specifically, we analyze methodological and statistical challenges associated with the investigation of the phenomenon, the theoretical basis for the PIB, and the effects of sample heterogeneity on self-perception patterns. We conclude by discussing the implications of this work and providing recommendations for advancing research in this area.     

Exploration of the Factor Structure of ADHD in Adolescence through Self,Parent, and Teacher Reports of Symptomatology

Factor analytic studies of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adults have shown that second-order and bifactor models better represent ADHD symptoms than two- or three-factor models, yet there is far less evidence for a bestfitting model of ADHD in adolescence. Thus, the current study examined the factor structure of ADHD in adolescence and further evaluated the external validity of the best fitting model. Participants were 588 adolescents (22 % female; 366 with a childhood ADHD diagnosis; mean age 15.9 years) from the 8-year assessment of the Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD (MTA). ADHD symptoms were assessed via adolescent self-report, parent report, and teacher report on the SNAP-IV scale. Potential factor structures for the 18 symptoms of ADHD were tested for each informant, which included traditional one-factor, two-factor, and three-factor models of ADHD, as well as second-order factor (specific factors loading onto general factor) and bifactor (items loading onto both specific and general factors) models. Unique associations between external criteria and the identified factors of each informant’s best fitting model were examined. Although several of the proposed models exhibited good fit, the second-order two-factor model best accounted for ADHD in adolescence according to self-report and parent report, and the second-order three-factor model was optimal according to teacher report. Several key measurement issues emerged for the hierarchical bifactor models, such as numerous Heywood cases and out-of-bound parameter estimates, which rendered them unfit as optimal representations of ADHD in adolescence. These findings and the implications of the best fitting model of ADHD in adolescence suggest that a possible reorganization of this disorder may eventually aid clinicians in the accurate diagnosis of ADHD in adolescents.     

Cross-generational transmission of aggressive parent behavior: a prospective,mediational examination

The intergenerational transmission of aggressive parenting behavior was examined within the context of a prospective longitudinal study of adolescent and young adult adjustment. Thirty-nine young adults (G2; 33 females, 6 males) who had participated in early phases of this study with their parents (G1) continued their involvement with their young children (G3; 17 females, 22 males, mean age = 2.6) several years later. Data included direct observation of parent–adolescent (G1–G2) and parent–child (G2–G3) interactions as well as self-reports. Analyses demonstrated directly observed cross-generational continuity in aggressive parenting from G1 to G2 some 6–7 years later. However, the results also showed that adolescent aggressive behavior served as the mediational link reducing the direct path from G1 to G2 aggressive parenting to nonsignificant levels. The results are consistent with a social interactional model of intergenerational continuity of parenting behavior.     

Effects of iron deficiency in infancy on patterns of motor development over time

This longitudinal study of the effects of iron deficiency in infancy assessed motor development over time in 185 healthy Costa Rican children who varied in iron status at 12-23 months. Longitudinal analyses (hierarchical linear modeling) used the Bayley Psychomotor Index before and both 1 week and 3 months after iron treatment in infancy and the Bruninks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency - long form at 5 years and short form at 11-14 years. Children with chronic severe iron deficiency in infancy had lower motor scores at the beginning of the study and a lower but parallel trajectory for motor scores through early adolescence. Thus, there was no evidence of catch-up in motor development, despite iron therapy in infancy that corrected iron deficiency anemia in all cases.     

Cognitions and depressive symptoms among ethnic minority adolescents

Cognitive models have guided effective intervention strategies in the treatment of depression. However, little is known about the cognitive model's relevance in different cultural ethnic groups in the United States. This study examines the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations among cognitive variables and depressive symptoms among African American, Caucasian, and Hispanic adolescents in the United States. Community adolescents (N = 450) ages 14-18 years (African American n = 79; Caucasian n = 273; Hispanic n = 98) provided information regarding their depressive symptoms and cognitions at two surveys, 6 months apart. Self-efficacy, cognitive errors, and hopelessness were associated with concurrent depressive symptoms at baseline. In addition, cognitive errors at baseline, controlling for baseline depressive symptoms and the occurrence of stressful events, predicted depressive symptoms at follow-up. Ethnic differences disappeared when parent education level was controlled. Our findings demonstrate support for the cognitive model of depression across ethnic groups. The importance of controlling for social class when examining ethnic differences in psychological variables is highlighted by our findings.